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Friday, November 9, 2012

820 Whitehead Street - Old Town - Key West

820 Whitehead Street - September 2012

Don't let the rusty roof on the front part of 820 Whitehead Street in Old Town Key West fool you. The historic part of the property (that under the rusty roof) was totally renovated from piers to interior roof and wall to wall in 2005. The rear two story addition is totally new.

820 Whitehead Street in 1965

I dug into the old shoe box and found a photo of the property taken in 1965. If you compare the old to the new photos you will see the porch has been modified and the door moved from the right side to the left. The old concrete block wall has been replaced by a white picket fence. The front porch is now just that, a porch. The formal entry has been moved to the north side of the house.

The renovation of this house was done in concert with the renovation of two other small historic cottage homes and the construction to three other new cottages. 820 Whitehead Street and the five other cottage homes are part of a small condominium association that have a shared use agreement to use the pool and landscaped walkways between the properties.

The
main floor provides an open living area with French doors that open outto the covered terrace that overlooks
the pool.

The
open kitchen is located just to the left of the main entry. The front
of the house currently houses a law office (legally permissible as the
property is zoned HMDR in case a new owner might want to live and work
in the same location. (Cuts down on travel time for sure.) That room
does have access to the front porch from which you can see the Ernest
Hemingway House across the street. The main floor bath is located
between the kitchen and the main floor bedroom.

The
floors in the living area are a beautiful grayish marble that is almost
reminiscent of Cuban tile. The floors are stunning in their simplicity.

The
master bedroom is located on the second floor. This space is a total
surprise to first time viewers. Wow! The space is large and open. This
room has a feeling of being much larger than it actually is. A set of
French doors open onto a Romeo and Juliet balcony that overlooks the
pool below. What a view that is! The master bath adjoins. The floors on
this level (and the stairway) are new rich oak - the real thing.

820
Whitehead Street is located just one block off Duval Street and across
the street from Hemingway House. The Southernmost Point is located a few
blocks south on Whitehead. The current entrance to Ft Zachary Taylor
State Park and Beach is located just a couple of blocks to the north.
This is a great tourist location. I believe this property would make a
great vacation rental. Four of the adjacent cottage homes are currently also available for purchase. None of the properties have been rented as vacation rental.

820 Whitehead Street has 970 sq ft under air and is offered at $449,900.
The monthly condo fee is $668.99 and covers building maintenance and
insurance, common area maintenance, and pool maintenance. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and listing photos. Then CLICK HERE to view a slideshow of photos I recently took of this property. I think you will find that this house has a lot to offer and is priced to sell.

If you would like to see this property or any other property in Key West please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

Dear Anon, Thanks for reading my blog. I expect that we will see some new listings later this month or early December so that prospective buyers will have something to look at. I've been knocking on doors looking for something to sell - I may become a listing agent in order to find something to sell.

Gary Thomas in a Nutshell

I first read about Key West in a magazine called "After Dark" sometime in the mid 1970's. But it wasn't until March 1984 that I made my first visit to the island that would become my home.
I had two weeks for a vacation and reserved a room at Colours Guesthouse (now Marrero's Guest House) for one week. I thought that if I didn't like Key West, I could always go back to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale for the rest of my trip.
But after a couple of days in Key West, that was no longer a consideration. But when I wanted to extend my stay for the extra week I found there was no room at the inn. The guesthouse owner did find me a room at LaTeDa, the infamous guesthouse/restaurant. That's a story I'll write another day. But those two weeks in Key West gave me the realization that I had found Paradise.
Key West has been my home since 1993 and my only regret is that it took me so long to get here.
I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties CRI.
Let me help you find your new home or business in Paradise. Living in Paradise is not a slogan, it's a way of life.